Other than Nova@Cuse, best game of the weekend might be Sunday at Xavier's Cintas Center when the Musketeers entertain Richmond (1 p.m., ESPN2) for an inside track in the A-10 race. Richmond has beaten Temple; the Muskies lost to the Owls. So, if the Spiders can escape with a win, they're in the driver's seat. ... X retained a shot at the title because they survived a harrowing visit to what's already becoming a notorious snake pit – Saint Louis' new 10,600-seat Chaifetz Arena. Rick Majerus' Billikens spent most of Wednesday's game leading the Musketeers but couldn't finish the deal. ... The 73-71 win gave Xavier another 20-win season, its 13th out of 14. What's really remarkable about that stat is, it spans four different coaches – Chris Mack, Sean Miller, Thad Matta and Skip Prosser. Being in the A-10, the job can't help but be a stepping stone when the coach succeeds; the last five Xavier coaches before Mack, including Bob Staak and Pete Gillen, have moved on to jobs somewhere in the big six power conferences. But the administration can keep reloading at the top because it knows and cares about basketball. X now has great facilities and has bred its own bloodlines. Mack played for Prosser way back in the early '90s and then coached for him and Miller. That continuity and legacy is how you build a nationally relevant program – even from what could be called a mid-major conference.

Atlantic Coast

In the league's biggest game of the weekend, Maryland takes the trip everyone in the conference loathes – to Blacksburg – to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. You can rationalize it's an important game for the Terrapins because they still have hope for what earlier this season would have been considered an improbable ACC title. Duke is on deck at the Comcast Center on Wednesday night and if the Terps can win these two, they can pull it off. But in reality, this is a much more important date for Va-Tech. The Hokies are undefeated at home but have nothing either out of conference or on the road to show the committee. It's a really weak resume that's begging to be scrutinized. ... You have to credit Gary Williams this year for one of his best-ever coaching jobs. The Terrapins are consistently playing hard for him. They've pounded teams they should, their only questionable loss being a home upset at the hands of scrappy William & Mary. Dino Gregory, suspended for first eight games because of lousy academics, has been a subtle but meaningful defensive upgrade this year. Eric Hayes has improved his 3-point accuracy because of the Terps' improved interior offense. And Greivis Vasquez, who played for Venezuela's national team over the summer and looked tired before the new year, has gained a second wind the last six weeks and should get league POY consideration. Some years nothing falls together for a team. But a lot has for Maryland this season. ... And yes, that's last season's national champion in last place. UNC not only lost to Florida State 77-67 in its last outing, it did so in a half-full arena and trailed at one point by 23 points. Guess that's what happens to what FSU's Sam Cassell famously called the Dean Dome's “wine and cheese crowd” when the losses mount. Corey Clark of NoleSports.com revised it on Wednesday to a “whine-and-geez crowd.”

Big East

From the indecipherable logjam of a month ago, it's come down to tonight's match between 'Cuse and 'Nova (9 p.m., ESPN) in their only meeting this year for command of the Big East regular-season race. Each team will have two games left after tonight and Villanova could theoretically still tie for the title even with a loss. But not only is that highly unlikely (SU has a home game with St. John's remaining), the Orange would own the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament regardless. Winning tonight doesn't guarantee the Wildcats anything but would give essentially give them the lead with the head-to-head win. ... You can see just from watching the Orange how springy and energetic they are. When you get up in the air so easily and fluidly, it gives you two advantages: 1. You get vertical clearance above traffic jams to take relaxed shots without anxiety of having them altered. 2. You can instill that anxiety in opponents with your defense. Syracuse's stats bear that out in a single remarkable stat category – blocked shots. According to Ken Pomeroy, the Orange rank No. 3 among the 347 Division-I teams in blocks on both offense (5.3 per 100 possessions, second-fewest) and defense (18.5 per 100 possessions, second-most). That's some powerful stuff that translates directly to field goal percentage. SU leads the nation in 2-point field goal percentage (.580) and ranks 49th in defending 2-pointers (.443). And even playing all the zone the Orange do, they still close out and get up on shooters well enough to rank 47th in 3-point defense (.310). Do all that and you can't help but win big. ... Jay Wright mentioned his frustration after the loss at Pitt with how often lately his Wildcats are putting opponents on the free throw line. Nova foes have shot a whopping 752 free throws this season, averaging 20-of-27 per game at the stripe. That includes an average of 28-of-39 in their recent tailspin of three losses in five games. Here's the best (or worst) part: Only 13 teams nationally have allowed more than half as many free throw attempts as field goal attempts. And until Wednesday's leisurely win over South Florida, the Wildcats were one of them. Nova opponent foul shots now number 49.9 percent of opponent floor shots. Considering this, it's really amazing the Wildcats are 22-4, especially playing in a powerhouse league like the Big East. The average won-lost record of the 13 teams who've turned this dubious trick: 11-15. And not one of them is from a major conference.

Big Ten

How hollow it must feel for Matt Painter and his Purdue Boilermakers to enter Sunday's meet with Michigan State at Mackey Arena (4 p.m., CBS) knowing the Big Ten title is at stake and yet also knowing they need to make it happen without their best player, junior forward Robbie Hummel. Since point guard Lewis Jackson's return from injury, this has looked like an elite team, reeling off 10 straight wins including road strangulations of MSU and Ohio State in front of those teams' home fans. The Boilers just looked two notches better than anyone else, the only Big Ten team capable of a national title. Well, now that's a pipe dream and it's too bad. This was a team that had a little of everything, a balance and chemistry and experience that's not only rare in these days of one-and-done but also hard to defeat. Their one flaw was a lack of great 3-point snipers that might have sunk them in the end. But we'll never know now. Hummel was their hub. And even assuming he can successfully rehabilitate his right knee, the mix won't be the same next year. Two important seniors – Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant – leave after this season. This was the year for the Boilers. Really a damn shame.

Patriot

The latest double-digit snowfall has moved back by three hours Bucknell's final regular-season game, Saturday at West Point, to 7 p.m. The Bison might be able to use the extra rehab time after Wednesday's domination at Lehigh. BU was never in it, thrashed 81-59, and now can do no better than second place. Lehigh will clinch the title with an expected home win over Holy Cross. The Bison at least do know they'll host their first-round Patriot League playoff game Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. They just have no idea yet who they'll play.

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